Was checking out my Cody Schrader feed and found this article: "Rams Named Best Fit for Draft's Top Receiver, The Los Angeles Rams Could Have a Star on Their Hands."
The receiver is Luther Burden, who played for Missouri. Calling him the draft's "top receiver" seems to be a stretch, but Lance Zierlein -- who reliably downgrades White WRs and RBs while ritually drooling over Black ones, has Burden pegged as a second round pick. Writes ol' Lance:
"Former five-star recruit who offers five-star athleticism and playmaking ability. Burden is a natural on the field with above-average speed and exciting ball skills to win at a high rate. He takes snaps off and short-circuits routes if he’s not the primary option, but he can separate and succeed on all three levels when it’s his time. Missouri exploited Burden’s yards-after-catch talent with a barrage of short throws, but NFL teams are much more likely to diversify his usage, activating his complete skill set and big-play potential. The production against top teams was uneven at times but so was Missouri’s quarterback play. Burden checks several priority boxes that typically foreshadow an impressive NFL career."
The article from the headline above writes: "The Los Angeles Rams could have the best receiver in the 2025 NFL Draft on their hands. Missouri's Luther Burden was considered one of the best pass catchers in college football entering last season but his stock has slightly decreased due to incorrect assumptions about his play. Some believe he regressed last season, which is not true. He played great; his quarterback Brady Cook regressed due to not having his reliable running back in the backfield anymore,
current Rams running back Cody Schrader."
Intrigued, I checked out Burden's stats. In three seasons for Missouri he recorded 45 catches for 375 yards in 2022, for an awful average of 8.3 yards per reception; 86/1212 in '23 with an average catch of 14.1 yards; and then in '24 he dropped to 61/676 for a paltry 11.1 yards per catch.
So this former five star recruit who "offers five-star athleticism and playmaking ability" averaged less than 10 yards per catch when combining his 2022 and 2024 output, yet last season "played great," with his regression attributed solely to his quarterback no longer having Cody Schrader as the engine of the offense.
So Burden remains a superstar prospect despite poor production his final season without Schrader being there to open the offense. That Schrader must be something special then, right? Well, yes, he easily led the hallowed SEC with 1,627 yards rushing in 2023, yet not a single "scout" deemed him to offer "five-star athleticism and playmaking ability." In fact as we know he wasn't drafted at all, and now languishes at the very bottom of the Rams roster with the odds now greatly in favor of him never getting an opportunity to establish himself as a ball carrier in the NFL. Basic Caste System/DEI racist methodology at work, ad infinitum.
The Los Angeles Rams could have the best receiver in the 2025 NFL Draft on their hands. Missouri's Luther Burden was considered one of the best pass catchers in
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